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Dragon Balls
The Dragon Balls are large, crystalline spheres that feature five-pointed stars (ranging from one to seven, varying in sizes and colors, along with being either rigid or flat in appearance) inside of themselves (akin to glass art); individually, they have no powers, but united they have the ability to call forth their associated Eternal Dragon who can grant wishes. Overview The Dragon Balls come in sets of seven with each ball displaying the number of stars that signifies its respective number in the set. It was said by Colonel Silver that the Dragon Balls are unbreakable when he dropped a fake Dragon Ball. Vegeta likely did not know this when he ordered Krillin to destroy one before the Ginyu Force took them on Namek. In the Fusion Saga, while Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks is fighting Super Buu, Piccolo says "If you break even one of the balls they can never be used again", which may mean that the Dragon Balls are not completely indestructible or that they are destructible when turned to stone (as they were turned to stone at the time). While the Dragon Balls take a year to return to normal, there have been two cases where they were used more than once in a year. The first example of this was when Kami revived Shenron and told Goku it would normally take a year since King Piccolo made a wish to restore his youth just days earlier but he decided to make an exception for Goku and his friends this once. The second and currently final time this happened was when Piccolo, and subsequently Kami, died during the battle with Nappa, and was later revived, effectively restarting the Dragon Balls, allowing them to be used to revive all those killed by Frieza and his men on Namek, with the first wish being to revive Goku happened around a month earlier. The exception to this is when the summoner chooses to save their wishes, at which point the Dragon Balls become inert for four months. Each set Dragon Balls are difficult to find because they are scattered all over their respective planet, all across their respective universe in the case of the Black-Star Dragon Balls, across numerous universes in the case of the Super Dragon Balls or even throughout time and space in the case of the Dark Dragon Balls and are deactivated for a year after every wish (though this depends on their origins, as a Namekian year is nearly one-third days of a year on Earth days, thus the Namekian Dragon Balls can be used more frequently than Earth's), disguising themselves as stones. To create an opportunity to summon an Eternal Dragon, one must travel all over the globe to retrieve them. As technology eventually progressed, this became somewhat easier, and became relatively simple with Bulma's invention of the Dragon Radar. Though the Dragon Balls are "programmed" to scatter across a specific location(s) after having been used, it is shown at least one can be stopped from scattering alongside the others, as Goku jumped into the air and grabs the Four-Star ball before it can fly away at the end of the Fortuneteller Baba Saga. Restrictions on the Dragon's powers are set by the relative capabilities of the Dragon Ball set's creator. A big problem is that with any set of Dragon Balls is that their creator must be alive for them to function, otherwise they will be stones for eternity, such as in Future Trunks' alternate timeline, due to Future Piccolo's death; this often results in the Z Fighters protecting their creator with their lives. The Dragon Balls can be rendered inactive if the model of the dragon breaks; likewise, if the dragon is destroyed, the model breaks. Without a model of the dragon and a set of Dragon Balls (in its stone form), it would take about 100 days to create the Dragon Balls (as mentioned by Dende before he modified them). If the creator allows it, the Dragon Balls can be used even if a year has not passed; this happens only once in the series, when Kami allowed Goku and his friends to revive all people killed by King Piccolo, even though it had only been a few days since King Piccolo wished to restore his youth. Since all seven Dragon Balls must be brought together, it is often a sound strategy employed by the villains of the series to find one Dragon Ball and hold on to it, while the Z Fighters go through the trouble of finding the other six, after which the villain will step in and steal them. Since this strategy technically works, but is considered cheap, the Z Fighters do not usually employ it, as they prefer to fight fair. However, the Z-Fighters did use this tactic during the Namek Saga, when Gohan took Vegeta's Four Star Namekian dragonball, because Krillin and Gohan knew they could not beat Vegeta or Frieza's forces without Goku's help, so they resorted to this tactic just that once. Variations Earth Dragon Balls The Earth Dragon Balls are about 7.5 cm (approximately 3 in) in diameter, and they summon a dragon named Shenron. They were created by Kami, and later re-created by Dende. Shenron can grant a wish within its powers as long as it does not create love, repeat a wish he previously granted, surpasses its creator's power, and meets a few more restrictions. Legitimate wishes include eternal youth, immortality, bringing back a scorched forest or even an annihilated planet. One of the most common wishes is bringing a dead person back to life, although there are several limitations on that as well. For starters, as stated above, the dragon will not grant the same wish more than once, which has the net result of ensuring that nobody can be wished back to life more than once. Also, they cannot revive a person who has died of natural causes. Although Earth's dragon balls can revive multiple dead people at once, when multiple people are revived, only those who have been dead for one year or less can be revived. This is often misunderstood by fans to mean that only those who have been dead for less than a year can be revived, but that is never explicitly stated in the series; all Kami ever says is that only wishes to revive multiple people are limited to a one-year time frame. Indeed, this misconception is finally put to rest in the Golden Frieza Saga, when Frieza was restored to life with Earth's dragon balls, despite Frieza being unquestionably dead for longer than a year. It is unknown if this restriction is still in place after Dende upgraded Shenron. In addition, when one is wished back to life, they awaken in the place where they were killed, such as the case with Bora, essentially reuniting the body with the soul. If one's body had been completely vaporized, they would come back in the last state they were alive in as shown by Mecha Frieza who was revived in pieces as the last time he was alive was after Future Trunks' had cut him into pieces (Frieza continued to live due to his ability to survive horrific injuries) before finishing him off. As shown by Frieza condition of the revived person depends on the person being revived as Frieza was revived in pieces due to him being able to live despite his entire body being cut up. If a person has been allowed to keep their body in Otherworld as with Goku, then the person will be revived in Other World (which causes their halo to disappear) forcing them to return to the living world on their own. However this apparently only applies to noble souls like Goku, as evil souls like Mecha Frieza who kept his body in Earth's Hell was revived on Earth in pieces, though it is possible that Dende's alternations to the Dragon Balls how resurrection functions or Frieza being revived on Earth instead of Earth's Hell was due to Shenron's interpretation of Sorbet's wish as Sorbet wanted to restore Frieza to life, so he could restore Frieza's body using the Frieza Force's more advanced medical technology. Another restriction is that it cannot kill enemies that exceed the creator's power. This is often understood by fans to be a ban on killing villains generally, but that is not explicitly stated. All Shenron states is that he cannot kill someone who exceeds the power of his creator (who, at the time, was Kami); as such, this dialogue opens the possibility for weaker villains such as Emperor Pilaf or Mercenary Tao to be killed off with a wish to the Dragon Balls; however, by the time someone had the idea to make such a wish, the villains were already more than 80 times stronger than Kami, who had a power level of only around 220, and villains would get even stronger after that. It should also be noted that such a wish would be unnecessary anyway as any villain Shenron could kill would also be within the power of his creator (Kami or Dende depending on the time frame) thus Kami or Dende could easily deal with the villain themselves (which would fit with their role as Guardian of Earth) or seek the aid the Earth's fighters that are stronger than them like Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo who are all far stronger than either Kami or Dende. This would have especially been true in Kami's time as Kami is experienced martial artist and the Dragon Balls could only grant one wish which would be far more useful in undoing the damage (deaths and/or destruction) caused by said villains who could be easily dealt by the heroes, Kami included. It should be noted that Dende takes on a more supportive role and tends to leave the fighting to the Z Fighters who would be unlikely to use the Dragon Balls to deal with villains that they could easily deal with themselves, especially given Goku and Vegeta's innate Saiyan love for battle, while others like Piccolo and Gohan (who's gentle nature would likely prevent him from making such a wish) would probably recognize the danger of over relying on the Dragon Balls to kill villains they could easily handle on their own. Additionally, said villains could simply acquire the Dragon Balls themselves to prevent them being used against them and/or use the Earth's Dragon Balls to acquire immortality as Garlic Jr. did. The Eternal Dragon will grant the first wish uttered after it was called, by whomever is present. However, a notable exception to this rule was once displayed: The Dragon has discretion to change a wish at the last minute, provided the original wisher consents to the change. First, Bulma asked the Dragon to revive "all of their friends who were killed by Piccolo." Oolong then clarified that the friends they wanted revived were "Krillin, Master Roshi, and Chiaotzu." Shenron was about to grant this wish, but at the last minute, Yamcha interjected and requested that all of Piccolo's victims, not just their friends, be revived as well. Shenron read the faces of Bulma and Oolong, realized that they liked this change, and agreed to make the change. The Dragon Balls were rendered inert three times: the first time was after King Piccolo murdered Shenron shortly after the latter granted him his wish, and was subsequently revived by Kami after Goku proved to him that there were still some good people in the world (originally, Kami had no intention of reviving them due to the purpose for creating them being corrupted by man's greed). The second time was after Kami ended up indirectly killed by Nappa when Piccolo took Nappa's attack meant for Gohan, although they were restored upon Kami's revival. They were then rendered inert for a final time when Piccolo and Kami decided to reunite due to Cell's grave threat to the world. Goku and the other Z Fighters initially did not consider restoring the Dragon Balls, but after Cell wiped out the entirety of the Royal Armed Forces when they attempted to attack Cell during the ten day wait before the Cell Games, Goku decided to find a means to restore the Dragon Balls, even if Kami could not defuse from Piccolo. When Dende became the Earth's guardian, he modified the burnt out Dragon Balls created by Kami, giving Shenron the power to grant three wishes (two wishes if one wish is used to revive a large amount of people). He chose simply modifying Kami's Dragon Balls over creating a new set because the time it would take to create a new set from scratch was far too long, especially given the imminent threat of Cell. In addition to this, Dende's dragon can grant one wish and then have the other wishes saved for a later time. This was shown in the Buu Saga, when one wish was made to revive all those killed by Majin Vegeta, and then Goku asked Shenron to save the following wishes. Therefore, only four or so months after Kid Buu's defeat, another wish was made to erase the Earthlings' memories of Buu. One obstacle that Dende could not overcome for the new set of balls is that, a person cannot be revived more than once. However in the Dragon Ball GT dimension Shenron is able to revive Krillin (and presumably Android 17 who had been revived after the Cell Games) who had previously been revived by Shenron, indicating that this limitation has been removed or it was due to the special nature of the wish itself which was granted by Shenron as a final wish after the defeat of the Shadow Dragons. Like the Namekian Dragon Balls, the summoner must utter a set of words. These words are "Eternal Dragon, by your name, I summon you forth: Shenron!" It is unclear whether Dragon Balls can revive artificial life or not. While Android 17 was revived during the Cell Games Saga, he started out as a human and was made into an android by Dr. Gero. Android 16, who was killed by Cell, was not seen again in the series even after the wish was made to revive all of Cell's victims. However in the Dragon Ball FighterZ dimension it is implied that Shenron was apparently unable to revive Android 16 who was revived by Android 21 by uploading the original 16's memories into a new body. As his memory apparently survived the destruction of his original body, Shenron may have been unable to revive Android 16 as his mind had survived the destruction of his original body thus he was technically still alive due to his nature as a mechanical type android which presumably allows him to survive the destruction of his body as long as his original memories remain intact to allow them to be uploaded into a new body. Presumably this would have also prevented his revival by Shenron in the primary dimension as well. The Legend of the Dragon Balls Master Roshi told a popular legend about the origin of the Dragon Balls. This legend contradicts the explanation given later in the series about Kami being their creator. Since Roshi's tale is only a rumor he had heard, it was likely a myth presumably created by the Earthlings. However, it is worth noting that the rumor closely resembles the story of how the Dragon Balls were made from parts of the Super Dragon Balls in the Dragon Ball Super era. Another possibility is that Kami may have created the myth himself to obscure the Dragon Balls origins from the people of Earth. Additionally the story of the hero may have been created by Kami to inspire the people of Earth to use the Dragon Balls for good. "The Legend, as I was told, goes something like this. In the beginning there was only one Dragon Ball. It was huge. I mean REALLY huge, it had to be. It held all of the mystical energies of the universe. An ancient tribe discovered it, and was inspired by its magnificent power. They built a shrine around it, and protected the orb by placing it in the mouth of a giant Dragon statue, said to be its eternal guardian. You should have seen the detail on this thing, it was INCREDIBLE, scales made of Ruby, teeth of pearl—speaking of pearl, they say there was this one native girl ("GET ON WITH IT!")—yes, well, the tribe enjoyed years of prosperity until one day, evil paid a visit to the village in the form of a band of thieves. These agents of Darkness stormed the temple in an attempt to steal the Dragon Ball for their own selfish gain. They were shocked to discover the true power of the Ball. To ensure such an attack never happened again, the Dragon Ball was divided into seven smaller orbs, and scattered across the globe. Separately, the Dragon Balls were useless, but when all seven were united, then a single voice could summon the Eternal Dragon for one wish, and one wish only. Some wishes were pure, but others were tainted by blind ambition. This led to pain and suffering as an unjust few wished for power and dominion over mankind. But as the story goes there will one day come a hero who will use the Dragon Balls for goodness, and bring peace and unity to the world once more." Namekian Dragon Balls Unlike the Dragon Balls of Earth, the approximately basketball-sized Dragon Balls of planet Namek summon a different dragon, Porunga, and can grant three wishes, due to their creation by Grand Elder Guru. They can be used once per Namekian year, approximately 130 Earth days.8 However, Porunga is initially only capable of one individual's revival per wish, whereas the Eternal Dragon of Earth can wish many back to life, even the entire population of a planet, with a single wish. Additionally, the Namekian Dragon Balls require the summoner to say a password before the dragon can be summoned, and the wish must be spoken in the Namekian language; the Z Fighters usually use Dende to translate their wishes to Porunga. One notable advantage that the Namekian Dragon Balls have over those of Earth is that they can revive a person as many times as wished, something even Dende's upgraded Shenron could not do. Furthermore, the Namekian dragon balls do not scatter across the planet after a wish is made. This allows the dragon balls to be used immediately after they are revived from stone, without having to gather them up. When Guru is about to die, he is able to name Moori as the new Elder right before he passes at the end of the Frieza Saga, after which the Dragon Balls' existence rests on the new Elder's fate. It is unknown if the Earth's Dragon Balls can be passed on in such a manner. Sometime after settling on New Namek, the Namekians decided to modify their existing Dragon Balls, giving Porunga the ability to grant the wish of resurrecting many living beings at once rather than just one at a time. This was done as a reaction to their experiences dealing with Frieza. Also, in the Kid Buu Saga, Porunga is able to grant a wish that is not spoken in Namekian language, as Dende wishes for all those killed by Buu to be brought back in the common language. Black Star Dragon Balls In the Dragon Ball GT dimension, the concept of "Black Star Dragon Balls" was introduced. This set of Dragon Balls was created by the Nameless Namekian, before he had split into Kami and King Piccolo. Presumably because this Namek was not pure good and was much more powerful (since he had not dispelled his evil half) the Black Star Dragon Balls can summon the much more powerful Ultimate Shenron, a mighty dragon that is not restricted as much as the normal Shenron (e.g. he can grant a wish to kill a person). To counter this powerful improvement, the Black Star Dragon Balls have two big downsides. First, when Ultimate Shenron grants a wish, the Black Star Dragon Balls scatter across the galaxy, rather than on Earth. Secondly, the planet upon which Ultimate Shenron grants a wish will be destroyed in one year unless the Black Star Dragon Balls are returned to the aforementioned planet. Apart from this, unlike the Earth or Namekian Dragon Balls, the Black Star Dragon Balls never transform into stones and can be used as soon as they are retrieved after being scattered. Emperor Pilaf uses them and unintentionally turns Goku back into a kid. Pan, Goku and Trunks are eventually able to recover them. However, they are used again by Baby to have Planet Tuffle revived. At the end of the Baby Saga, Piccolo decides that the Black Star Dragon Balls are far too dangerous to allow to exist, so he stays on Earth as it explodes, killing himself to ensure that they would never hurt anyone again. Negative energy and the Shadow Dragons First mentioned by Old Kai, whenever a wish is made using the Dragon Balls, an equal amount of negative energy is created alongside the beneficial wish-granting energy. To prevent this energy from causing problems, the Dragon Balls absorb this dark energy. The dark energy stored in the Dragon Balls disperses only after 100 years, and the Dragon Balls can only store a limited amount of it. After used to make a wish, the Dragon Balls scatter across the planet, giving them time to dispel the dark energy harmlessly (since it is expected that it would take years for someone to find all the Dragon Balls and summon Shenron again, especially since most people do not know about their power). Unfortunately, this countermeasure was proved near useless when Bulma invented the Dragon Radar, allowing the Z Fighters to easily find the Dragon Balls and summon Shenron many times. Eventually, all seven Dragon Balls were filled to full capacity, causing them to crack. When these damaged Dragon Balls were used to summon Shenron to restore the Earth after Goku's battle with Super 17, the Dragon Balls released years worth of dark energy instead, which manifested into an evil Black Smoke Shenron, who in turn swallowed the Dragon Balls and split into seven Shadow Dragons. Despite the fact that the seven Shadow Dragons were all created by individual wishes, not every wish made spawned a Shadow Dragon. For example, none of the wishes made after the Cell Games to revive Cell's victims and remove the bombs from the Androids spawned a Shadow Dragon. It is unknown what became of the negative energy of those wishes. Presumably the Namekian Dragon Balls and Super Dragon Balls are capable of storing larger amounts of negative energy generated by wishes, due to them being larger than the Earth's Dragon Balls. Super Dragon Balls The Super Dragon Balls are the original set of Dragon Balls formed by the Dragon God, Zalama. The Namekians found the Super Dragon Balls and they shaved pieces off to make their own. These Dragon Balls have no limits and can grant any wish the user desires. The size of these balls are the size of planets, and at one point, Champa even calls them "wish planets". Champa had collected six of the Super Dragon Balls and Bulma was on the search for the remaining one, which is revealed to be the Nameless Planet. To summon the Dragon of the Gods, the summoner needs to say in the Divine Language "Come forth Dragon of the Gods and grant my wish, peas and carrots". After a wish is made they scatter across Universes 6 and 7. Dark Dragon Balls The Dark Dragon Balls are a set of black-starred, dark red Dragon Balls formed by Dende: Xeno. Gathering all seven enables one to summon Dark Shenron to have a wish granted, but the Dark Dragon Balls are even trickier to gather, as they scatter throughout time and space. Also, they possess the unique ability to merge with evil beings in order to increase their power. To remove a Dark Dragon Ball from its host, they must be defeated within a specific amount of time; if not removed in time, the Dark Dragon Balls will cause the host to undergo a Dark Evolution, further empowering them. Category:Items